Football



"Jan. 10,1928. 1 1,655,599

I w. J. DOLAN, JR

FOOTBALL Filed June 21, 1923 WM /NVENT0R M W ATTORNE-XZ Ill) [ill

Patented Jan. 18,

WILLIAM J'. 'DOLAN, JR., 013 PEARL RIVEEQNEVI' YORK.

FOOTBALL.

Application filed June 21, 1923. Serial No. 646,869.

The invention relates to footballs and has for an object the provisionof means whereby afoot ball may be tethered or held -aptive for practicekicking,

In the game of foot ball as at present developed, kicking the ball.plays a most unportant part, and in practice much time is spent indeveloping the skill of the ilayers in this feature of the game. A greatdeal of valuable time, however, wasted because of the necessity forretrieving the ball after it has been. kicked. In practicing dropkicking, for example, the player, who holds the ball in a suitableposition before him, after dropping and kicking the ball, must eitherretrieve it himself, or the services of another person must he enlistedfor that purpose. To avoid this waste of time on the part of the playeror the employment of the services of extra people to retrieve the ball,the in vention contemplates the provision of ineai'is,

for tethering the ball, or holding it captive, so that the player mayplace it in any dc sired position with relation to his bo said tetheringmeans to be of such a natli M the ball, after its flight has beenarrested will be returned to position near the player.

The invention consists in the novel inl provements, combinations andfeatures of construction herein shown and described.

In the accompanying drawing is shown a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the same illustratingthe principles by which the i mention iscarried ,into effect.

()f the drawing Fig. l a front View partly inprrspe tire, parts beingbroken away, and shows a. foot ball and. tether made in accordance withthe invention, the tether being on Wed at one end to a bar between the un'ighis of goal posts, and the ball. being shown in a.

position in which it would be held by the player for a drop kick,and'facing in the direction of its proposed flight;

Pig. 2 is a side view of the same with the ball. in position on theground;

Fig. 3 is a front View of the ball, showing; certain parts thereof inopen or spread. position.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, there is illustrated a preferredembodiment of the invention, the same, as shown, com prising a foot ball4 of of unusual construe tion. having an outer covering of four sectionsfastened together, there being added thereto means by which the ball maybe engaged with a tether and held captive. While said means may beconstructed in various ways, preferably they should be of such natureas'to distribute throughout the body of the ball the SllOCK caused bythe tcthers arrest of the flight of the ball when kicked. y

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, therefore,said means co n'n prise a pair of flaps or. wings 6 extending from thebody of the ball. Each wing an, integral part of a section of the coverand is a continuation thereof, being formed by and extending from theseam 7 where the section issewn to its adjoining section. Each wing,also, and as shown, is at the said seam 7 co-cxtensive in length, withthe section of which it forms an integral part. Furthermore, each wing 6is preferably made narrow at one end and graduallyv increased in widthto the other end where it is formed. with an orifice 8 at a point whereit approaches the The leather or fabric surroumlneg the orifice 1sreenforced by a metal eyeother wing.

throughout the body of the ball. Also,,def-

ormation of the ball is avoided, the usual outer surface of the ballpreserved, and interference with handling, the ball is avoided.

Means are provided for teiiherimr the ball.

and while the ball may be tethered to any suitable standard orsiiipport, as illustrated, the ball is shown as tethered to the cr ssbar 11 of a pair of goal posts 12. lfreiferziibly, also, the tethershould be of an elastic nature so that when the ball is kicked, thesudden shock, above referred to, caused by the arrest of the flight ofthe ball by the tether maybe taken up in part by the stretching orgiving of the tether, in this way undue wear of the ".all and tetherbeing avoided. In the embodiment ofthe invention illustrated, therefore,the tether is shown as being made of a strap 13 having in one portion ofits extent, preferably at one end, a spring 1& of suitable size andstrength. The tether is also provided at one end with a clasp 16 whichengages, as shown, the pierced ends of the creased.

Wings 6, and at the other end With a clasp 17 Which engages a hook 18fastened to the cross bar 11.

It is to be noted that in the game of foot ball as now commonly played,there are several accepted methods of kicking, including printing, placekicking, and drop'kicking. In placement kicking the ball is usually heldend up on the ground at a slight angle from the perpendicular, and indrop kicking this angle is somewhat in- To permit placement and dropkicking, therefore, the tether is made ot a length preferably exceedingthe distance between'the cross bar lland the ground, and

may be made longer, as desired. 'This greater length of the tether,also, will permit tree dropping of the ball by the player so that inpracticing drop kicking he must depend upon his oWn skill to place theball in the proper position at an angle from the perpendicular.Furthermore, this greater length of the tether will provide suilicientslack to tlllOWtllQbElll to take a natural flight, when kicked for thepurpose of ascertaining the accuracy of the kick. It will be seen, also,that by locating the orifices in the positions in the respective Wings,as described, the center of gravity of the ball need not be allected bythe Weight of the slack of the tether. For example, When the ball isdropped for a drop kick, the tether Will not prevent the ball strikingthe ground in the position intended, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Also,the tether will not affect the proper use of the ball in the otherstyles of kicking.

It Will be seen that a foot ball and tether constructed in accordanceWith the invention, as described, Will carry outthe objects of. theinvention, as set forth, and Will permit a player to become more quicklyproficient in kickmg because of permitting concentrat-ion of practice,that is, performing a great-- lye increased number of kicks in a giveninterval of time. Other advantages will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

Many changes may be made in the details of the invention withoutdeparting from the main principles thereof, and without sacrificing itschief advantages.

I claim:

l. The combination of a players foot ball, and an elastic tetherattached at one end to said ball and at the other end to a point ofanchorage, said tether being oil such length that said ball While heldcaptive may be kicked by the player for practice purposes as it entirelyfree.

2'. The combination of a players toot ball and an elastic tetherattached at one end to said ball and at the other end to a point ofsuspension above, said tether being of such length that said ball Whileheld captive may be kicked by the player for practice purposes as itentirely free.

The combination of a players foot ball, and an elastic tether attachedat one end to said ball and at the other end to a point of anchorageadjacent the kicking point, said tether being of such length that saidball While held captive may be kicked by a player forpractice purposesasit entirely free.

i. The combination oi a players football, and an elastic tether attachedat one end to said ball and at the other end to a point of suspensionabove, said tether being of a greater length than the distance from saidpoint of suspension to the kicking point so that said ball While heldcaptive may be kicked by the player for practice purposes as it entirelyfree.

In testimony whereof, I have affixed my signature hereto.

WILLIAM J. Dorian, JR.

